I'm Back!

Hi everybody!

It's been such a long time since I've written a post.  Life with 2 kids, a pet, a house and all of the responsibilities that go with that has just gotten in the way of my blogging.  I don't expect that I'll go back to blogging several times a week, or doing many reviews and such, but my goal for 2017 is to try to write a blog post at least once or twice a month.  Maybe if I'm lucky it will be even a little more often than that!

A lot has changed since my last post in 2014! The kids are now coming up on 7 and 5 years old! This fills me with mixed emotions.  I love that things are getting easier, they are becoming more independent, and we are able to do a lot more things as a family, but I do miss having really 'little ones' around.

Brennan is in 1st grade and loves school.  He is both an excellent student and friend.  He he does quite well with math and science (taking after Dad), but also is a good reader has has an incredible vocabulary and all around grasp of the English language (Mom's traits).  He loves Legos and still loves dinosaurs.  He is cute, smart, funny, witty, clever, strong, and a joy to have as a son.  I'm remarkably proud of him and the little man he's growing into.

Bryleigh is in Pre K-4 and just like her older brother, she LOVES school.  She loves her teacher, she loves her friends, she loves doing crafts, and she loves learning.  She has been doing an excellent job learning her letters and their sounds, and she's already had her numbers and colors down for quite a while already.  She likes dolls and all stuffed animals, being outside, and going to Gigi and Juju's house (grandma and grandpa). She is funny, incredibly caring and loving, girly, beautiful, kind of a spitfire, goofy, smart, and so wonderful to be around.  

The cat, Rocky, A.K.A. The Rock,  is doing well. He just turned 3 at the end of December and he definitely isn't lacking in attention or love.  He gave us quite a scare last summer when he disappeared for over a full day.  He had definitely been gone for several hours or for part of a night in the past, but he ALWAYS had come back for his meals!  We were so relieved when he showed back up completely unharmed and happy.

Ryan just started a new job, but he is still at the Mayo Clinic.  He is now a Technical Specialist in the specimen processing area of Mayo's Biorepository. This was a promotion he has been wanting for quite a while and I'm thrilled for him.  He no longer works as a volunteer EMT in town, but instead he is on the city's ambulance commission and gets to help to make decisions about how the ambulance service runs and functions.  He ran for city council in 2016, but unfortunately was not elected.  The competition was stiff with 12 people running for 3 positions!

Ryan and I have both officially joined the 30-something crowd.  I'm busy as always between being a stay-at-home Mom/Jane of all trades at home, my part-time photography business, and telecommuting part-time from home for a company in Dallas, TX.  I've done quite a few home improvement projects and well as countless different crafts during my blogging hiatus.  I also worked hard in an effort to change the animal ordinance in our town to allow for raising a small flock of chickens within city limits.  Though it was originally voted down for some very silly reasons, we are now starting the process over with the new city council that just took over this month.  I'm very hopeful that within a few months I might have a few chicken of my own!  Get ready to start handing out name suggestions!  But perhaps my next news is more exciting than chickens.  I became a God-Mother twice over to our good friends' second son, Jaxon, and to one of our nephews, Beau.  It was such an honor to be asked in both cases!

My oldest sister dressed as Santa for this fun Christmas shoot
that my other older sister did.

That leads into another huge thing that happened during my blogging break.  My oldest sister had triplets!  This was such an incredible blessing after they lost their first son during labor and delivery.  (I did blog on this before.)  The triplets were born in June 2015 and are now happy healthy 19 month olds!  There are 2 boys, Beau and Wyatt, and one girl, Savannah.  We love following along with their lives through all of the many Facebook photos and videos, but do wish it was easier to visit!  Texas and MN aren't the closest...

We've also gained another niece and nephew during my break!  Reagan is 15 months old and lives in Texas.  She's Ryan's brother's second daughter.  She's adorable and I hope to get to know her more through visits over the years.  Tyler is 11 months old and is Ryan's sister's 4th child.  He's got a killer smile and his siblings can't get enough of him.

Both Ryan's and my families are doing well.  My Dad had a hip replacement last year at 60 years old. It's made a miraculous difference in his life.  It had gotten so bad that he could barely limp around. SO glad he got it fixed!  

Libby just days before
her surgery.

My parents' dog, Libby, is now 13, coming up on 14 years old.  She had a very close brush with death this summer after suffering of Pyometra. Pyometra is a uterine infection.  It was unclear for quite a while what was actually going on with her, but it was very clear that she was near death.  My Mom decided to try the surgery, which is basically a hysterectomy, in hopes that she would pull through.  This was an incredibly hard decision considering that Libby was an old girl and had already lived a long, full life. It turns out that Mom made the right call because Libby recovered well from the surgery, and has been acting more like a puppy than she has in years.She's always dragging toys around, jumping, and skipping everywhere she goes.  We believe that she had actually had a minor infection for a few years that had been making her feel somewhat sick, because she's a new dog. Hopefully she has a few more great years!

Well, that's enough for now.  Hopefully that sort of brings you back up to speed.  I definitely want to go back and post some photos of the projects I've done and tell some more detailed stories of other things that have happened over the last couple of years, but this is a start!

Thanks for reading!

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Officer Schneider's Final Goodbye...

It's been a week and a half since Officer Shawn Schneider's emotional and touching funeral and I just wanted to let everyone know how it went.  The turnout was absolutely tremendous.  We had police officers, firemen, and EMS from all over our area, and even as far away as Las Vegas, in attendance.  Many area citizens and supporters of the Schneider family even turned out to line the streets during the processional and support the family.

I did not go because I would have had to bring Brennan with, but my husband attended the funeral with Lake City's volunteer Ambulance crew.  He said it was basically indescribable.  It was something that was amazing to see, but that you just pray to God that you'll never see again. 

I wanted to share one picture with you.  I didn't take this picture, it was passed onto me from a friend.  Someone she knows took it, but it struck me and gave me chills.  I put it into Photoshop and did a little editing on it.  I think it turned out stunning.

The processional was just majestic.  It was 4 miles long and included a ton of police cars, some firetrucks, our ambulances, and Officer Schneider's casket being carried along my two beautiful black horses.  This picture summed up the feeling of the day perfectly.  The black and white scene symbolizes the sadness and somber mood of the day, while the brightly covered flag gives us hope that comes shining through the darkness to illuminate our lives- that everything will be ok.

The "Final Call" was read at the end of the burial.  This is what it said,  

"515 to 208.........515 to 208......attention all units, 208 Officer Shawn Schneider is out of service, End of watch Dec. 30 2011.....208 is 10-7."

It only seems fitting that as the "Final Call" was just ending, the clouds suddenly parted and the warm sunlight came pouring down, spreading over, all of the mourners in attendance.  It was like someone was really there, still watching and protecting them, and sending down his love and comfort even from beyond this life.

Please continue to pray for continued healing and comfort for all of family, friends, acquaintances, and supporters of Officer Shawn Schneider.  Also, take the time to tell the people you care about what they mean to you.  You just never know when you'll no longer have that opportunity.

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Police Shooting in our Hometown- update

As much as I was hoping to never have to write this post, the time has come that I need to.  In the post I wrote a couple of weeks ago (Police Shooting- A Sad, Scary Day in our Hometown), I told you about how one of the 10 police officers in our little town was gunned down while responding to a domestic disturbance call.  As more information emerged, we found out that Officer Schneider was shot while helping the 17 year old former girlfriend of the enraged gunman escape the house where her ex-boyfriend was holding her.  As the girl ran from the house, with Officer Schneider shielding her while running behind her, he took a bullet to the back of the head/neck.  He was rushed to Mayo in Rochester and was in critical condition for 2 weeks.  The gunman was later found dead from a self-inflicted gun shot wound inside the house.

Sadly, Officer Shawn Schneider passed away on Friday, December 30th around 5:30 in the evening.  The community has been mourning the loss of this awesome citizen, civil servant, and hero ever since.  The part that gets to me the most is that he leaves behind a wife and 3 young children.  I can't imagine the pain and worry that the family is facing but I'm so happy and proud of how the community, as well as many other nearby (and faraway) communities have stepped up to help and support his family.  Many houses in town still have their porch lights on to show support.  There have been countless benefits and fundraisers.  Many are still going on even after Officer Schneider passed away.

The funeral is set for Saturday and we're sure that the turnout will be tremendous.

 If you would like to send a donation to help support the family, a fund has been set up at one of our local banks:

Shawn Schneider Family Support Fund
Alliance Bank
105 E. Lyon Ave., PO Box 455
Lake City, MN 55041

We hoped that nothing like this would ever happen here in our safe, peaceful community and we were all taken by surprise when it did... surprise is really an understatement.  Now, all we can do is hope and pray that nothing like this ever happens again.  Please keep Officer Schneider's family and friends in your thoughts and prayers, as well as the family of the gunman and the 17 year old girl involved in the altercation.

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Police Shooting= A Scary, Sad Day in our Hometown

We had quite an eventful, sad day in our hometown of Lake City, MN today.  Lake City is a very small town- only about 5300 people, yet today the unthinkable happened.  An armed gunman shot an officer, who was responding to a domestic disturbance call, twice- once in the back and once in the head, before barricading himself inside of a house.  To make a long story short, the officer is currently at Mayo in Rochester, MN in critical condition and we are all hoping for a quick and complete recovery.  Things look promising so far.  The gunman apparently turned his weapon on himself and was found dead in the home nearly 10 hours later.  Here's what just one of many articles said about the incident:

"Lake City Officer Shot; Gunman Believed Dead

Officer shot in head, in critical condition

Updated: Monday, 19 Dec 2011, 7:28 PM CST
Published : Monday, 19 Dec 2011, 9:35 AM CST

FOX 9 News

LAKE CITY, Minn. - A police officer is in critical condition after he was shot in the head while responding to an altercation at a home in Lake City, Minn. on Monday. A standoff with the suspect lasted into the evening, until officers entered the home and found the body of a man believed to be the gunman.

SLIDESHOW: Standoff in Lake City

The Wabasha County medical examiner will positively identify the body of the man found in the home, but the standoff ended once it was found.
According to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, the shooting occurred after two Lake City police officers were called to the home at West Lyon Avenue to a reported domestic incident involving a handgun.

There were two shots fired, with Officer Shawn Schneider, 32, suffering a head wound at the front door of the home. Schneider was taken to St. Mary's Hospital in Rochester, where he remained in critical condition Monday evening. The second officer was not injured.

Police confirmed the suspect in the shooting is Alan J. Sylte Jr., 25, of Hager City, Wis. They believe Sylte remained inside the home, armed with a small caliber handgun, after shooting Schneider.
A perimeter was established around the home at 618 Lyon Avenue, but a police tactical team was not able to make contact with Sylte, who has a criminal record that includes battery and disorderly conduct charges in Wisconsin in 2006.

Schools in Lake City were placed on lockdown at the request of police during the standoff. The school district said all students were safe inside the school, and buildings remained on lockdown until shortly after 6 p.m., when police advised schools that it was safe to transport the students home.
 The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension will investigate the shooting."

This has all come as quite a shock to everyone in our close-knit community!  This is something that we see happening in other cities around the country and the world, but can never imagine happening in our own backyard.  The house where the stand-off occurred is only 7 blocks away from my own home. 

We are all hoping and praying for the wounded officer and his family as well as thinking and thanking everyone involved with the situation today- the police officers of Lake City and several other surrounding communities, the volunteer fire department, the ambulance crew, all of the government agencies involved, the teachers and school officials that kept our students safe and calm during lock down, and everyone who stepped up to help in one way or another.  We would all appreciate your thoughts and prayers. 

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